Fluoroscopic bone fragment tracking for surgical navigation in femur fracture reduction by incorporating optical tracking of hip joint rotation center

A new method for fluoroscopic tracking of a proximal bone fragment in femoral fracture reduction is presented. The proposed method combines 2-D and 3-D image registration from single-view fluoroscopy with tracking of the head center position of the proximal femoral fragment to improve the accuracy of fluoroscopic registration without the need for repeated manual adjustment of the C-arm as required in stereo-view registrations. Kinematic knowledge of the hip joint, which has a positional correspondence with the femoral head center and the pelvis acetabular center, allows the position of the femoral fragment to be determined from pelvis tracking. The stability of the proposed method with respect to fluoroscopic image noise and the desired continuity of the fracture reduction operation is demonstrated, and the accuracy of tracking is shown to be superior to that achievable by single-view image registration, particularly in depth translation.     

On-line electrodialytic salt removal in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of proteins

Salts and buffers, commonly used in isolation and stabilization of biological analytes, have a deleterious effect on electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Excessive concentrations of salts lead to ion suppression and adduct formation, which mask or complicate ion signals. In this work, we describe a salt remover (SR), configured as a three-compartment flow-through system, where the central compartment is separated from the outer compartments by a cation-exchange membrane (CEM) and an anion-exchange membrane (AEM). One platinum electrode is placed in each of the outer compartments, where water or electrolyte is flowing. The CEM electrode is held at a negative potential relative to the AEM side; cations/anions migrate by electrophoresis to the CEM/AEM receiver liquids, respectively. Proteins have poorer electrophoretic mobility relative to the buffer components, permitting removal of the salt. The salt-free proteins proceed to the ESI source. The capillary scale SR (internal volume 2.5 μL) described here effectively desalted continuous flows of NaCl solutions (200 mequiv/L at 1 μL/min, equivalent to a flux of 200 nequiv/min with 88% efficiency) and achieved >99.8% salt removal with 154 mM NaCl (isotonic saline) at 1 μL/min. With optimized current, >80% of concurrently present 20 μM protein was transmitted. Desalting efficiency and analyte loss was evaluated with different salt concentration and flow rate combinations under different applied current. Good-quality ESI-MS spectra of cytochrome c, myoglobin, and lysozyme as test proteins in a saline solution, passed through the SR, are demonstrated.     

Electrochemical Characterization of a Porous Pt Nanoparticle ＂Nanocube-Mosaic＂ Prepared by a Modified Polyol Method with HCI Addition

Porous and single crystalline platinum (Pt) nanoparticles (NPs) have been successfully synthesized by reduction of H₂PtCl₆·6H₂O and then investigated by optical spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. H₂PtCl₆·6H₂O was reduced using ethylene glycol in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone under highly acidic conditions (pH < 1) to form single crystalline Pt particles about 5 nm in size. These particles were then stacked via {100} facets, forming 50-nm length porous nanocubes with a mosaic structure. The porous Pt NPs exhibited excellent catalytic properties for methanol oxidation. In particular, the electrochemical surface area was ∼63 m²/g, five times higher than that for non-porous Pt NPs prepared using a conventional method. We suggest that the high catalytic activity of porous Pt NPs is due to a combination of the crystalline structure having exposed {100} facets and a porous morphology.      

Real-time remote monitoring: the DuraMote platform and experiments towards future,advanced, large-scale SCADA systems

The economic and social prosperity of our society depends much on the proper functioning of structures and civil infrastructure systems. Structural health monitoring has been long recognised as a vital tool to preclude and/or mitigate degradation effects and failures of structural systems. Along this line, the DuraMote platform is presented in this paper (named after Durable and Mote) together with real-life applications, laboratory and field experiments, which promote the effort to expand the existing concept of structural monitoring into remote, real-time, continuous and permanent performance monitoring of spatially extended systems. Successful implementation of this technology can improve the resilience and sustainability of large-scale complex infrastructure systems and lead to future, advanced Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition methodology that could be routinely used in a variety of structures and networks.     

Enzyme-catalyzed poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) synthesis from acetate with CoA recycling and NADPH regeneration in Vitro

We established a novel enzyme-catalyzed poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] synthesis system capable of recycling CoA on the basis of the P(3HB) biosynthetic pathway in Ralstonia eutropha. The system includes purified beta-ketothiolase (PhaA), NADPH-dependent acetoacetyl-CoA reductase (PhaB), PHA synthase (PhaC), acetyl-CoA synthetase (Acs) and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH). In this system, acetyl-CoA was synthesized from acetate and CoA by Acs and ATP, and then two molecules of acetyl-CoA were condensed by PhaA to synthesize acetoacetyl-CoA, which was converted to (R)-3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA (3HBCoA) by PhaB and NADPH. The 3HBCoA was polymerized by PhaC and converted to P(3HB). In this system, the CoA molecules that were released during the condensation and polymerization reactions catalyzed by PhaA and PhaC, respectively, were reused successfully for the synthesis of acetyl-CoA. In addition, NADPH, which was consumed in the reduction of acetoacetyl-CoA, was regenerated by the action of GDH. In this system, the yield of P(3HB) synthesized from acetate as the substrate was 5.6 mg in a 5-ml reaction mixture, and the weight-average molecular weight and polydispersity were 6.64 x 10(6) and 1.36, respectively. Furthermore, CoA was reused at least 26 times, and NADPH was also regenerated at least 26 times during 24 h of reaction.     

Excess heat evolution from nanocomposite samples under exposure to hydrogen isotope gases

Anomalous heat effect by interaction of hydrogen isotope gas and metal nanocomposites supported by zirconia or by silica has been examined. Observed absorption and heat evolution at RT were not too large to be explained by some chemical processes. At elevated temperatures of 200–300 °C, most samples with binary metal nanocomposites produced excess power of 3–24 W lasting for up to several weeks. The excess power was observed not only in the D-Pd·Ni system but also in the HPd·Ni system and HCu·Ni system, while single-element nanoparticle samples produced no excess power. The Pd/Ni ratio is one of the keys to increase the excess power. The maximum phase-averaged excess heat energy exceeded 270 keV/D, and the integrated excess heat energy reached 100 MJ/mol-M or 90 MJ/mol-H. It is impossible to attribute the excess heat energy to any chemical reaction; it is possibly due to radiation-free nuclear process.     

Efficient Identification of the MYC Regulator with the Use of the CRISPR Library and Context-Matched Database Screenings

MYC is a major oncogene that plays an important role in cell proliferation in human cancers. Therefore, the mechanism behind MYC regulation is a viable therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer. Comprehensive and efficient screening of MYC regulators is needed, and we had previously established a promoter screening system using fluorescent proteins and the CRISPR library. For the efficient identification of candidate genes, a database was used, for which mRNA expression was correlated with MYC using datasets featuring “Similar” and “Not exactly similar” contexts. INTS14 and ERI2 were identified using datasets featuring the “Similar” context group, and INTS14 and ERI2 were capable of enhancing MYC promoter activity. In further database analysis of human cancers, a higher expression of MYC mRNA was observed in the INTS14 mRNA high-expressing prostate and liver cancers. The knockdown of INTS14 in prostate cell lines resulted in decreased MYC mRNA and protein expression and also induced G0/1 arrest. This study confirmed that CRISPR screening combined with context-matched database screening is effective in identifying genes that regulate the MYC promoter. This method can be applied to other genes and is expected to be useful in identifying the regulators of other proto-oncogenes.     

Carbon Nitride Loaded with an Ultrafine,Monodisperse, Metallic Platinum-Cluster Cocatalyst for the Photocatalytic Hydrogen-Evolution Reaction

For the realization of a next-generation energy society, further improvement in the activity of water-splitting photocatalysts is essential. Platinum (Pt) is predicted to be the most effective cocatalyst for hydrogen evolution from water. However, when the number of active sites is increased by decreasing the particle size, the Pt cocatalyst is easily oxidized and thereby loses its activity. In this study, a method to load ultrafine, monodisperse, metallic Pt nanoclusters (NCs) on graphitic carbon nitride is developed, which is a promising visible-light-driven photocatalyst. In this photocatalyst, a part of the surface of the Pt NCs is protected by sulfur atoms, preventing oxidation. Consequently, the hydrogen-evolution activity per loading weight of Pt cocatalyst is significantly improved, 53 times, compared with that of a Pt-cocatalyst loaded photocatalyst by the conventional method. The developed method is also effective to enhance the overall water-splitting activity of other advanced photocatalysts such as SrTiO₃ and BaLa₄Ti₄O₁₅.     

Indentation-induced ductile behavior of glass–ceramics involving layered aluminosilicates

Contact damage in materials is critical in engineering applications because it influences mechanical resistance, such as wear, erosion, and impact failure. Indentation tests were performed using a tungsten carbide ball indenter (Hertzian contact) on the surfaces of glass–ceramics containing hexagonal CaAl₂Si₂O₈ or mica crystals (fluorophlogopite), both of which have a layered structure. The stress–strain relation and the permanent deformation on the surface, as well as the observation of the microcrack zone by X-ray computed tomography using synchrotron radiation, revealed that the glass–ceramic with hexagonal CaAl₂Si₂O₈ showed ductility similar to the quasi-plastic behavior previously observed in the mica glass–ceramic. The yield stresses of the glass–ceramics were estimated from the stress deviating from the stress–strain relation assuming complete elastic response between the ball and the sample. The ratio of the yield stress to Young modulus (Y/E) of the glass–ceramic with hexagonal CaAl₂Si₂O₈ was determined to be higher than that of the mica glass–ceramic.     

Bio-Inspired Adhesive with Reset-On Demand,Reuse-Many (RORM) Modes

Development of tough, reusable adhesives is important, but remains a major challenge, especially in water. A tough reusable adhesive that resets entirely to its virgin condition when needed is reported using caffeic acid. Here, caffeic acid is employed as adhesive moiety to achieve such the functions due to its dual characteristics: an adhesive moiety from mussel-inspired catechol and a photo-reversible crosslink from cinnamic acid. Adhesion involves a two-step process. First, the caffeic acid-functionalized polymer is applied to the adherend, followed by UV irradiation (peak wavelength of light-emitting diode, λ_P: 365 nm) to form a durable pre-applied adhesive (PAA) layer through crosslinking among the caffeic acid moieties. Second, thermal activation of the PAA layer ensures repeated adhesion to a variety of adherends ( R euse- M any mode). The cyclic dimer of the caffeic acid moiety is de-crosslinked by UV irradiation at λ_P: 254 nm. This allows the complete removal of the adhesive residues from the adherends when the adhesive is no longer needed ( R eset- O n demand mode). Furthermore, using magnetic nanoparticles, the caffeic acid-functionalized polymer can be activated remotely under water by magnetic induction heating. This study paves the way for the rational design of bio-inspired adhesives that outperform nature using plant-derived raw materials.